


Don't fall for me (but I already have)

by leblockhead



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, Getting Together, High School AU, Romance, they're the same age here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26191012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leblockhead/pseuds/leblockhead
Summary: Don't fall in love with meSeulgi remembers that's what Joohyun said on the day she transferred to their class, a few months into their first year of high school.
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 97





	Don't fall for me (but I already have)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my first time writing Seulrene! Never did I think I'd go down this path...but they're just too cute, you know? I'd say I'm a casual fan and I'm still working on getting their dynamics (as well as some facts about them) right, so I appreciate any kind of feedback. Thanks and hope you enjoy!

_Don’t fall in love with me._

Seulgi remembers that’s what Joohyun said on the day she transferred to their class, a few months into their first year of high school. Everyone thought that she was so full of herself but they never bullied her—not outright anyways, because Joohyun had such a calm and powerful aura it made them scared to face her directly. Seulgi was probably one of the few who tried to befriend her.

“I’m Kang Seulgi,” she had said quietly when Joohyun was assigned to sit beside her. The latter gave her a quick glance and the barest of smiles before turning her attention to the front. When the first break arrived no one flocked towards Joohyun as they usually would when a new student came, and Joohyun seemed to be content with the situation. Seulgi, on the other hand, thought it was imperative to learn at least one thing about her seatmate, and more if she was allowed.

“Where did you come from?” she asked tentatively.

“...Daegu.” 

Ah. So that’s why she had an accent.

“Favourite colour?”

“Purple.”

“Food?”

“Tteokbokki.”

Why isn’t anyone allowed to fall in love with you? Is what she wanted to ask next but she doesn’t want Joohyun closing up on her. Despite her icy exterior the petite girl didn’t seem bothered by her questions and she hoped it continued that way. “Number?”

“43.” A pause. “Your turn.”

“Ansan, orange, sujebi and 20,” Seulgi listed out without hesitation. “TMI, I can’t wink.”

That earned her a chuckle from Joohyun, and Seulgi couldn’t help but beam. From that day onward Seulgi slowly got Joohyun to warm up to her. Soon the latter began to smile more often and wasn’t afraid to speak up because of her dialect anymore. During their second year she gradually assimilated with the rest of their peers, her popularity suddenly sky rocketing after everyone was able to witness the cute and playful side of her. 

Seulgi was somewhat proud and jealous at the same time. 

“Someone confessed to me,” Joohyun says one day, when they’re hanging out in Seulgi’s room.

“Either he’s a first year, or he just forgot.”

“Forgot about what?”

Seulgi frowns. “You asked us not to fall in love with you. Don’t you remember?”

“Of course,” Joohyun responds, her smile fading a bit. “I’m surprised you do.”

“It was an odd thing to say to a group of strangers, don’t you think? It left an impression on me.” She pauses for a bit before asking her question. “Why did you say that?”

“People befriended me because of my looks. Throughout elementary and middle school people claimed to have fallen in love with me, and because I didn’t return their feelings I lost them as a friend...boys who used to play with me and the girls that liked them...” Joohyun pulls up her knees and hugs them close to herself. “It’s silly, I know, considering none of us had any idea what it meant to be in love during that time...but kids are pure, you know? If we like each other then everything is fine, but if it’s not mutual then it’s the end of the world.”

“You won’t lose me,” Seulgi says, trying to sound reassuring even though her feelings are teetering towards the other end of the scale. It scared her, the feelings she had for Joohyun and how strong they were...but she’d rather be around her than without her.

Joohyun smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Do tell me if there’s a boy you like though, so I can avoid him like plague.”

Seulgi forces herself to laugh. “I don’t think I could blame anyone for falling in love with you, not when there’s so much to love about.”

“Is that so?” the petite girl said, her smile a little brighter this time. 

Seulgi nods resolutely. She doesn’t ask more questions when Joohyun changes the topic, gladly welcoming the distraction.

Things didn’t change much during their third year. Seulgi and Joohyun were still in the same class, the latter still as popular as ever, and they were still close friends who linked arms all the time when walking. Well, Joohyun did all the clinging and Seulgi just let her be.

Perhaps the only thing that changed was the fact that Joohyun received far more confessions than before, almost on a weekly basis or even less. Seulgi supposes that everyone is in a rush to confess, not wanting to leave any regrets before they graduate. 

Joohyun patiently rejects all of them, and most of them accept defeat.

There was one time though, where Seulgi caught a guy trying to grab Joohyun’s hand during his confession. He was bold enough to do it in the hallway for everyone to see, directly in Seulgi’s sights.

“Yah, hands off!” she shouts as she shoots up from her seat and quickly makes her way towards them. Joohyun steps closer to her the moment she arrives. “You don’t touch a girl without her consent!”

The boy seems thoroughly embarrassed at being called out by her. “I wasn’t going to—what the hell does it have to do with you anyways?!” He turns and mutters something rude before he stalks away.

“Kang Seulgi,” Joohyun says as she pulls on her sleeve, breaking her attention away from the retreating form of the boy. She knows she’s not in trouble when her full name is said, because that’s simply a habit that Joohyun brought with her from Daegu. Still, she apologizes. 

“Sorry, you probably could have handled it yourself, right?” she says, a little flustered at her mini outburst, if one could call it that. One glare from Joohyun was enough to make the boys cower in fear, it was most likely that she didn’t need her help.

“No, I’m happy that you did.” She then leans in closer. “You have my consent to touch me anytime,” she whispers into Seulgi’s ear, a smirk on her face as she pulls back.

The poor girl blushes fiercely, wondering why Joohyun said that when touching her was practically a girl friend’s privilege—even when Seulgi never chose to initiate skinship.

_Does it mean that she...?_

Seulgi shakes her thoughts away and re-enters the classroom. Thankfully her classmates don’t think that she caused a scene because she was known to be protective of her friends. She spends the remainder of her day stealing glances at Joohyun (who now sits a few rows ahead of her, as opposed to their first year).

“Which university are you going to apply for?” Joohyun asks one day after school, when they’re eating dessert at a newly opened cafe.

“Not sure,” Seulgi replies honestly, “a school that has something to do with performance and arts I guess.” She was only good at dancing, singing and drawing, there wasn’t much she could do. Maybe she could try out photography. “You?”

“I don’t know either. I’m thinking of becoming a teacher so I’m still looking into schools.”

Seulgi takes a sip from her drink and imagines what Joohyun would be like, wearing a formal white shirt, paired with a black pencil skirt (or pants) and jacket. Not that that was the only thing teachers were allowed to wear...Seulgi imagines Joohyun would look good however she dressed.

“You’d look good,” is what she ends up saying. Joohyun arches a brow and smiles in a way that makes Seulgi wonder if she’s a mind reader. “I mean you got that vibe going on!” she amends. “Being a teacher suits you.”

The petite girl nods, thankfully putting the issue to rest. “Do you think...do you think we’ll still be friends?”

“Of course,” Seulgi says immediately, having thought of this question multiple times during the past few months. If she tries hard to maintain their friendship then it wouldn’t dissolve into nothing, right? Though she’s not to certain how long she’ll be able to stick around after Joohyun’s found a boyfriend. She supposes she’ll be hanging around for as long as she can.

To prove her point, Seulgi puts her hand over Joohyun’s, hoping that it would reassure the petite girl. Joohyun stills for a moment before turning her hand over to hold Seulgi’s. “Friends,” she says, ever so softly, a distant look in her soft brown eyes.

“For as long as you’ll have me.”

Then, Joohyun looks her straight in the eye. “What if I feel like I want you forever?” she whispers in a hushed tone.

Oh. _Oh._ There was definitely no way to interpret this in a platonic sense, right? “...then I’ll be with you, always.”

It’s probably foolish to be promising herself to someone else when they’re so young. Heck, who knows if she can even keep this promise in the future? But it felt like the right moment, and the right time. Joohyun, on the other hand, doesn’t seem satisfied with her answer.

“Let’s go,” she says, withdrawing her hand from Seulgi’s.

They walk silently, side by side after leaving the cafe. Seulgi eyes Joohyun every now and then, and despite the emotionless expression that she has, the former knows that she’s unhappy about something. When they stop in front of Joohyun’s house, Seulgi gently takes hold of her hand before she can step away.

“Bae Joohyun...is it okay for me to fall in love with you?”

The smile that slowly spreads across Joohyun’s face is a sight that Seulgi will never forget.


End file.
